During the transportation of goods, it is very valuable to know which trailers or shipping containers are full, and which ones are empty. It is also useful to know, for those containers that are loaded, how full or empty the container is. However, in practice this information is difficult to obtain.
A yard check is one way in which trailer loading is determined. This is a manual process in which a yard worker opens a container or trailer to determine its loading status. However, this method takes up a significant amount of time and human resources.
Automatic load detection may be possible. Trailer cargo detection devices in the market today typically use ultrasonic or light sensors to measure the distance from the load to the measurement device using time of flight (TOF) technology. However, load surface conditions, temperature, and device field-of-view create problems which are difficult to solve.